Accounts Payable Automation Software: What’s the Cost?

The Institute of Finance and Management reports that 80% of companies want to streamline AP processes to reduce costs and increase accuracy. The biggest obstacle for companies: Fear that it’s hard to implement or costly to set up. The reality is that manual accounts payable processes are extremely expensive, averaging $35 per invoice to process. Just multiply that by the number of invoices you pay each year to figure out how much you’re currently paying. Automating AP reduces these costs significantly.

Demonstrating the case for AP automation in small businesses, Industrial Refrigeration Services, Inc. recovered 500 hours per year in AP processing time, protected 100% of invoices and other document from loss, theft or damage, and saved nearly $10,000 per year in AP processing costs.

With automated invoice processing and workflow automation software starting at $75 per month, cost is typically not the obstacle: It’s the absence of management approval due to the unknowns of implementation. Overcoming this obstacle typically requires management to understand the automation process.

Here are the steps to achieve AP automation:

Convert any paper invoices to digital: Scan the records. We can do that for you if you have a backlog. We can set you up to scan paper invoices going forward.

Load the invoice into a simple document management system like

ImageSilo workflow engine sorts and indexes the docs and routes them to the correct approver.

The approver is prompted to approve or reject the invoice.

The invoice is routed to AP for final review against any POs.

A data file is generated and transferred to your accounts payable system.

The data file creates an automatic posting and schedules payment on the next check run.

Invoices are retained digitally.

Integrating accounts payable automation into existing accounting software is seamless. Streamlining your AP workflow helps you capture all quick payment discounts, eliminate finance charges and late fees, and saves labor expense and staff time. No more filing, no more inter-office mail. And IT support is not needed when choosing a cloud-based option.